2Achazyahu fell through the lattice in his upper chamber at Shomron and was injured. So he sent messengers, whom he instructed: “Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury.”

In biblical Hebrew, the word malach (מלאך) means ‘messenger.’ There are two kinds of messengers. One is a human messenger, and the other is an angel, a messenger of God. According to Jewish belief, angels do not have independent free will. Rather, they are Hashem’s messengers who are able to fulfill only the specific mission He gives them. When human beings use their free will to do the Lord’s bidding, they can become even greater than angels, as they are choosing on their own to obey God. And when they show their loyalty to Hashem by doing His bidding and improving His world, they become like angels, His messengers to the rest of the world.Comment

3 But an angel of Hashem said to Eliyahu the Tishbite, “Go and confront the messengers of the king of Shomron and say to them, ‘Is there no Hashem in Yisrael that you go to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?

6 They answered him, “A man came toward us and said to us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you, and say to him: Thus said Hashem: Is there no Hashem in Yisrael that you must send to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Assuredly, you shall not rise from the bed you are lying on, but shall die.’”

10Eliyahu replied to the captain of the fifty, “If I am a man of Hashem, let fire come down from heaven and consume you with your fifty men!” And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.

13 Then he sent a third captain of fifty with his fifty men. The third captain of fifty climbed to the top, knelt before Eliyahu, and implored him, saying, “Oh, man of Hashem, please have regard for my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours!

16 He said to him, “Because you sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron—as if there were no Hashem in Yisrael whose word you could seek—assuredly, you shall not rise from the bed which you are lying on; but you shall die.”

Kings Map

About The Israel Bible

The Israel Bible is the world’s first Tanakh (Bible) centered around the Land of Israel, the People of Israel, and the dynamic relationship between them. Designed for both Jewish and non-Jewish readers alike, The Israel Bible offers a unique commentary that seeks to explain God’s focus on the Land of Israel alongside the original Hebrew text, transliteration of select Hebrew verses, and the New Jewish Publication Society translation.
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